Oscar (AmBull) Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 Thought this thread could be a discussion on desensitising puppies to all sorts of things, people’s experiences, advice and suggestions. I am a new dog owner (Amstaff, 13 weeks, Oscar) and have been attempting to desensitise my new puppy to everything. I have just found a link for fireworks and thunder, two things that dogs are notoriously scared of. I am not sure how to actually do it. He was ok with the fireworks; I was giving him treats and rewarding his calm behaviour. However he was scared of the thunder. He ran and came back for a treat when the thunder was quieter then would leave again when loud. I didn’t do this for long as he was scared. Have I left this all too late? What is the right way to desensitise a puppy to such sounds experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoo Posted June 21, 2009 Share Posted June 21, 2009 When doing socialisation/desensitisation with any pup you need to start slow and small. Turn the volume down to a level the pup is calm with then reward; do this 10 times without your dog showing any anxiety or fear then turn the volume up slightly and repeat 10 times...if you go to loud to soon you risk long lasting anxiety and fear to such things. Remember to always start small and build up....dont molly coddle the pup for showing fear; this only teaches the dog that there is something to afraid of...instead reward and play for not showing any fear, this way the dog will start to understand there is nothing to be scared of. You havent left it too late.....which is good to see ......socialisation to noises, surfaces, environments, other animals inlcuding other dogs is an ongoing lifetime thing for every dog.....the importance thing is too start right and build a solid foundation in the pups critical period of development (up to 16 weeks of age). keep doing what you are doing..its nice to see a responsible owner trying to do the right thing for their pup :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocosMum Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Have I left this all too late? What is the right way to desensitise a puppy to such sounds experience? hey great thread...May i ask for the link for the thunder etc.....,Are you coming to the Adelaide meet for DOL in July 19th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar (AmBull) Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 missmoo: Thanks so much for the great information. It is hard when you aren't sure of the right and wrong ways to do things, especially when you know the wrong things can be so damaging. ChocosMum: I will be at the Adelaide Meet are you coming? Oscar will be fully vaccinated by then so that is fine. I am a tad worried though, never been to an off leash dog park and have read some bad things on here. But there will me many more experienced dog owners there that I am sure can help me watch him. Just so worried he will have a bad experience. But I am sure it is just me being paranoid. Here is the link for the sounds, http://www.caninetraining.com.au/dog_training_services.html It is on the left hand side and down the bottom are the sounds files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocosMum Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 missmoo: Thanks so much for the great information. It is hard when you aren't sure of the right and wrong ways to do things, especially when you know the wrong things can be so damaging. ChocosMum: I will be at the Adelaide Meet are you coming? Oscar will be fully vaccinated by then so that is fine. I am a tad worried though, never been to an off leash dog park and have read some bad things on here. But there will me many more experienced dog owners there that I am sure can help me watch him. Just so worried he will have a bad experience. But I am sure it is just me being paranoid. Here is the link for the sounds, http://www.caninetraining.com.au/dog_training_services.html It is on the left hand side and down the bottom are the sounds files. Thanks for the files..i needed them...im making a CD with traffic, thunder,fireworks,airplanes,helicopters,police sirens etc for choco would you like one ?????? Yes im so going to the meet...cant wait.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CP* Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 I saw a behaviourist about this issue. One additional thing I was told to do was to play the sound when the dog is eating so they get used to it as background noise and are too focused on their food to worry about the sound. I was also told to turn the volume up slowly. A couple of other things you can try is to play clanging, banging kind of music - classical within lots of percussion is good, and to take them to shopping centre car parks where there is the sound of trolleys and cars and horns - lots of different noises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdogs Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 A flyball competition is a good one. Lots of dogs barking & the noise of the starter & the dogs getting the ball out of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now